


The Last Letter

by RebaJean



Series: All My Brothers [4]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 20:23:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13325826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebaJean/pseuds/RebaJean
Summary: Motoki receives the letter he never wanted to get. Story time frame parallels All My Brothers Chapter 10.





	The Last Letter

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Characters are based on Sailor Moon copyright 1992 by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha and subsequent commercial rights holders/licensees. This story is not intended for monetary gain or tangible profit, but purely for entertainment of the readers.

~Flashback~

Motoki sighed. She was so beautiful, his woman. The half smile lingered and the quiet, almost sad, dark eyes flashed, as she turned down the hallway to the departure gate. He watched her as she walked away, long dark hair swaying slightly, brushing the white blouse and crisp khaki slacks, her carry-on and jacket slung over one shoulder. It was the last time he had seen her. How many times had he stood here like this, watching her walk out of his life yet again?

~*~*~*

He opened the middle drawer of his desk and took out the slim packet of envelopes with exotic stamps and Arabic postmarks. There were only four since Christmas and it was now June. The first two letters were filled with mindless chatter about school, her job, and gossip about people he didn't know. There was the envelope with the short note he received at spring break. The next was only a postcard of the camel rides at the pyramids. "Having a great time – wish you were here." It was the kind of say nothing card you would send to your relatives or classmates. And now there was the letter he held in his hand.

Spring break, Motoki mused. It had been so busy up to then; he had hardly had time to miss her at all. His best friend's "wedding" was the first Saturday of the break and he was the best man at the ceremony. The party had wound down a little after they discovered that the bride and groom had disappeared. He had helped Makoto and Minako clean up the hall rented for the occasion. He was used to the routine, mop and scrub, fetch and carry mostly. They had left the hall spotless, if he did say so himself.

He had been looking forward to a quiet day off to rest and do nothing, but Unazuki had conned him into subbing for her the next day. You would think they could do without him for a day. And the anticipation of seeing Reika on Tuesday had nearly killed him. She was supposed to be back for the first time since Christmas. Then on Monday he got the letter. It was just a short, almost impersonal note. "She was short on funds. Sorry can't make it. See you in June."

Motoki held the last letter in his hand staring at it. He shoved the packet of letters back in the drawer and crumpled up the envelope and stuffed in his pocket. He staggered back over to his recliner and collapsed into it.

Half a dozen or so empty beer cans lay scattered about the floor around his chair. An opened bottle of tequila, tipped over shot glass, spilled salt shaker, and lime peels littered the coffee table. Here I sit, crying in my beer. I sound like a damn country-western song.

The next morning, Motoki slowly went about the routine at the coffee shop in the Crown Arcade. So far it was quiet for a Sunday. Sunglasses covered his squinting, bloodshot eyes. They seemed to help the throbbing headache a little.

The jingling bells on the door announced the arrival of another customer. His best friend entered, wet and dripping, obviously straight from his morning run. He wiped the sweat dripping off his face and hair with his tee shirt. "I need to clean up some," he commented as he headed back toward the restrooms. Motoki stared at his friend, whose neck and chest were covered with bruise marks, three or four bloody teeth marks decorated his upper arms and shoulders, and his back was covered with scratches.

Mamoru grinned widely as he saw his friend's face. Greenish and pale complexion, sunglasses, and the slow movements told the story. It added up to a massive hangover. "You look like shit; it must have been some party."

"Well at least I didn't lose a cat fight with Luna and Artemis. Or was it a rabbit? I hear they have sharp claws and teeth too." Motoki replied grumpily.

"Yeah," Mamoru trailed off as he stared into space.

Motoki flipped a towel at his friend's face. "Earth to Chiba, anybody home in there?"

"Huh?" came the brilliant repartee.

"Coffee?" asked Motoki.

"Yeah." With a massive grin, Mamoru launched into his story. "We taped a new commercial yesterday. It's really hot. I got a tape with it and the first one too."

"What's it about?" asked Motoki, becoming curious.

"Well you know we met this advertising guy in Hawaii and he set up the gig with the Rapunzel shampoo people. They liked the test audience reaction to the first commercial where Serena plays Rapunzel and I'm the prince who rescues her. So they had us do another commercial. This one is kinda like, uh, you know that other one where the girl is taking a shower in a waterfall?"

"Uh-huh," Motoki answered as both guys stared out into space.

"It's kind of like that one. We're in a shower in a locker room. The camera view is through a half-height frosted shower door. I help her wash her hair; you know how long it is. She does mine. We kind of play around a little too, if you know what I mean. She looks really hot. I'm even hotter," Mamoru bragged.

Motoki appeared intrigued by the idea. "Were you guys naked?" he asked.

"Nah, it just looks that way from the way they shoot the scenes. They gave us some dinky little skin-colored bikini bottoms to wear. And you can stop thinking that, Serena had a top part too," he added.

"It gave me the best chance to tease her that I've had in a long time though," Mamoru smiled mischievously.

"Someday she's going to finish you off for good, if you don't stop teasing her so much," Motoki laughed.

"This time I really got her good. When they gave us the script and she saw it was a shower scene, she really freaked. I told her they were all going to be nude scenes. I've never seen her turn that red or shriek that loud in my life. Then I told her we needed the money to pay all the bills left from the shopping she did on our honeymoon. It was hilarious!" laughed Mamoru.

"You are so bad, dude. I'm changing the odds at the arcade for people to bet on when/if she'll kill you." Motoki added.

"What are they now?" Mamoru asked curiously.

"It was 2:1 in her favor; I think I'll increase it to 5:1 after this latest stunt!" he said. "So did you lose a fight with the cats?"

"No, it was something about the photo-shoot. With all the takes and retakes, it lasted all day. We were almost doing 'stuff', pretending do things with each other, touching each other, and couldn't really do 'anything' with all those people watching. I've never seen her that turned-on in my life. She jumped me as soon as we got home. It was intense, wild, amazing . . ." he drifted off and stared off into space again.

"So the little bunny is an exhibitionist, eh? Can I watch?" teased Motoki.

Mamoru grabbed the towel and snapped it at Motoki. "You're twisted, man. Don't push it. Don't even think it!" He smirked, "What about you? You gonna be 'excited' to see Reika in a few days?"

Motoki suddenly looked sick, "You know Chiba, for somebody who is supposed to be so smart, sometimes you really say some dumb stuff!"

"Huh? What did I do this time?" Mamoru protested.

"You come in here bragging about how 'hot' you've got it and then stick a knife in your friend's back. Reika's not coming back to Japan. I got this damn letter instead," groaned Motoki as he handed Mamoru the crumpled up letter. "Read it."

Mamoru sat at the counter and read the short letter, as his cup of coffee grew cold. Motoki retreated to the back room. The gist of the letter said,

"I've met someone here in Cairo. He owns an oil company and is a long time donor to the museums here. He's offered me a wonderful job at his company as an archaeologist and asked me to marry him next month. I have accepted both his offers. I won't be coming back to Japan. I wish you the best and hope we can still be friends.

Your friend always,

Reika"

That really bites, poor Motoki getting a 'Dear John' letter, the Royal flush, thought Mamoru as he sipped his now cold cup of coffee. She could have at least dumped him in person. A few minutes later, a red- eyed, sad faced Motoki came back out.

"That really sucks," commented Mamoru, as he handed back the letter. "Is there anything I can do? What can we do to help cheer you up? Or do you want to be left alone?" Mamoru added as he thought about how he preferred to deal with trouble himself.

"That's why I got drunk last night. That's the whole damn 'party of one'. It didn't help and now I feel crappy on top of getting bad news," Motoki said as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Hey, it's not like all the girls hate you at least. They're always after you. Remember when Makoto and Usagi were practically fighting over you? I was so damn jealous, I wanted to pound you myself," teased Mamoru, trying to cheer up his friend.

Motoki brightened, "Gee, I never knew you felt 'that' way about me. Sorry, but I just want to be your friend. I'm not into guys that way."

"You know that's not what I meant," sputtered Mamoru.

"Yea, and I've had a lot of fun seeing how far I can push you. And I still see you turn green if I pay any attention to Usagi," Motoki needled Mamoru.

"I knew it! That you did that just to get me mad. You finally admit it!" crowed Mamoru.

A distant look suddenly came into Mamoru's eyes. "Well," he drawled, "Ya never know when your 'one true love' might be just around the corner…"

"Hi, guys. What's going on?" was a friendly greeting from Umino as he rounded the corner and came up to Mamoru and Motoki.

The sound of glass breaking and liquid splashing shattered the silence as Motoki's nerveless fingers dropped his coffee cup. A look of horror crossed his face as he sputtered at Mamoru, "That's not . . . not  . . . one of your predictions that come true is it?"

At the same moment, Naru, Makoto, Minako, and Rei came around the outside corner of the building and entered the arcade. "What on earth are you guys doing?" asked Naru as Mamoru slipped off his stool and fell on his butt on the floor.

Umino looked from one to the other in confusion. "I just asked them the same thing and Motoki dropped his coffee cup."

Mamoru looked up from his sprawled position on the floor, and locked eyes with Rei. They both turned and looked at the other girls. Mamoru grinned, sure Motoki had not seen their looks or heard the thoughts exchanged between Rei and himself.

"That might just be one of the few times I'm right when it comes to guessing about love," Mamoru quipped and exited the arcade laughing.

~*~*~*


End file.
